Page 136 of Worthy

“Are you having a good time?” my father asks drunkenly, stealing my attention.

“Huh?” I drag my eyes away from Jessica, who fingers the man’s tie.

“Are you enjoying the trip?”

I’m struggling to comprehend my dad’s question when Jessica pulls on the tie. What the hell?

“Melanie?”

I snap my eyes away. “What, Dad?”

Throwing his hands up placatingly, he chuckles. “No need to bite my head off.”

“Sorry,” I mumble, scooting my chair back. “I need the bathroom.”

My stepmom steals his attention again as I slowly round the table. Jessica is all over the stranger.

Is this the same girl who shakes with nerves when I throw her scathing glances? How about the confident girl at school, with perfect high ponytails and short skirts, who has all the boys drooling?

Is she about to cheat on Jaxon?

Why?

Her eyes collide with mine but slide away just as quickly. Now I’m even more intrigued. My dislike for her is forgotten, and the scent of Greek food barely registers as I weave between tables.

I sidle up beside her and flash a tight smile at the stranger before piercing Jessica with a hard look. “What are you doing?”

Why the hell do I care enough to interrupt whatever this is? Maybe I feel bad for all the shit I’ve put my dad through? I don’t want him to suffer even more than he already has. Perhaps that’s why I feel strangely protective. Jessica is drunk. I’ve only seen her have one drink behind our parents’ backs, but it’s not like I’ve spent the entire evening keeping an eye on her.

“This is Henrik.” She waves a hand at the stranger, who looks at her with an amused glint in his green eyes.

Sandy hair, brushed to the side, frames his handsome face.

I don’t like the feeling that arises inside me when he turns his emerald orbs on me. I quickly look away and gesture at our table. “Our parents want us to join them.”

She snorts a laugh, her body gravitating closer to the man. “Our parents? You hate my mom.”

I don’t bother to argue with her. She’s right, so what’s the point?

“What about Jaxon?” I don’t like the guy, but this doesn’t seem right either.

She looks at me again as she allows the stranger to pull her closer to his body with an arm around her waist. “You hate me, so why don’t you walk away and let me worry about myself?”

I’m so goddamn confused. Jessica never steps out of line.

“Wait,” I rush out when the stranger turns to leave with Jessica in his arms, “I’m coming with you.”

“Fine by me,” he drawls, leaving no doubt about what he has in mind.

I throw him a poisonous glare that makes him chuckle. My mind is rushing a million miles a minute as we exit the restaurant through a side door.

Warning bells blare in my head, but they’re silenced when the cold steals my breath. Flurries of snow land on the strands of my hair, and my breath gusts out in a great cloud. “We should go back inside.”

We’re in a dark side alley. The single sensory light over the door barely provides enough light to see by.

The stranger walks us deeper into the shadows before I can say anything else. Something is very wrong. Jessica is slumping against him, barely able to walk.

“Where are you taking her?” I ask the stranger as we turn the corner.

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